Wild Thing

Lesley's Blog

Eric and I have just returned from celebrating our wedding anniversary in New Orleans. My first time there, I found it to be a wonderful city to visit. We did all the typical tourist things: walking around the French Quarter, enjoying the jazz at Preservation Hall and in the streets, eating Beignets at Cafe Du Monde and all manner of delicious seafood at other restaurants, taking the streetcar to the Garden District to see the cemetery and the beautiful antebellum houses, visiting the Museum of Southern Art and the Aquarium.

We also participated in another typical tourist activity, a Swamp Tour. The scenery was beautiful but, of course, we were there to see the wild life, including the alligators. Much to our amazement marshmallows were used to to lure the animals from hiding and one type of treat fitted all as they also beckoned the racoons and the wild hogs. Those hairy pigs had been well trained and sat by the boats with their mouths open. Quite a sight.

But I am not really writing to give you a blow by blow account of our vacation. Seeing the wild scenery of the swamp and the wild boars got me thinking about wildness.  New Orleans has risen and, at times, fallen on what we think of wildness. We are all familiar with how the "wildness" of the weather and the ocean overwhelmed the city, almost bringing it to its knees. Assisted by the strength of the spirits of the people from that remarkable city it was rebuilt. Just as with Noah in the Great Flood, the dove found dry land and resurrection began.

During Mardi Gras, the city truly goes "wild". It is a time when anything goes and even the most staid of people get swept into the spirit of uninhibited behavior, or what we often label "wild". On any given night Bourbon Street is filled with folks who have imbibed more than a drink or two, all sorts of interesting looking attire and or course, the sound of music and the smell of wonderful food. One of the great things about Mardi Gras is that in many ways it gives the opportunity for "controlled" disinhibition. It is a set time period, in a specific place and manner and gives us lots of stories to tell when we are in our dotage.Many cultures, now and over the centuries have offered experiences during which people are given "permission" to act out for a limited time period before returning again to their regular, well socialized lives.

But another way to consider wildness is to look at the idea of inner wildness which I think about as our true nature, that part of us that is less influenced by the socialized human world. It is my belief that this wildness can be thought of as our basic essence and it is not linked to "anything goes", uninhibited, impulsive and often reckless behavior. From my perspective, such wildness is basically loving and kind and joyful. It is manifest in unexpected courage and the spirit that rebuilt New Orleans. It is the dove of peace and reconciliation that finds the calm after the storm and is willing to start again. It is found in the joy we experience in the little things in life and the laughter we share with good friends. It is the aspect of us that reveals our deepest desires that are for our highest good and assists in manifesting those desires. Spiritual discernment is what often leads us to know our inner wildness and that requires alone time and silence, not easily come by in our busy, goal directed society.

So, where do the wild boars come into these meandering thoughts of mine? They are not indigenous to the Americas and, as we have expanded our developments into more and more habitats of all animals, the boars have been squeezed too. They are in all the wrong places and have become increasingly destructive of things that we consider our right to have left alone. Originally their predators were wolves or tigers and during the time when nature was more able to balance itself, the populations were kept under control. Not so now. 

How are they like us? When we are in the "wrong" place emotionally we too can be destructive. Often we find ourselves "squeezed" into lives that feel confined and unsatisfying and, in an effort to cope, behavior that is harmful to us and others can ensue. So we need to ensure that our frontal lobes keep appropriate control of our choices, keeping our tendencies to be out of control well monitored. Now that is not the same as living a life without meaning, joy and creativity and, in fact, when we do allow all aspects of our brain to give input to create balance, then our lives our rich and full. A true wild life.